Adhesives & Sizes

Gesso is the Italian word for gypsum but has come to mean the ground or primer for wooden painting panels. This gel-like mass, having the consistency of cream when warm, consists of chalk or gypsum and animal collagen glue in a solution with water. This article provides recipes for sizes and grounds and step-by-step instructions on preparing and applying gesso or glue grounds to wood panels...

This traditional method of preparing canvas supports for oil painting uses rabbit skin size (animal collagen glue) and oil ground. Herein briefly is the process of preparing a picture canvas for oil painting...

Kölner Colnasize is a concentrate and an easily prepared size designed for the adhesion of gold and silver leaf to Kölner Burnishing Clay and Kölner Insta-Clay...

Part two on preparing a wood panel for painting with the application of chalk grounds and the sixth in our technical series on painting icons, this article discusses preparing the glue solution used in the preparation of wood panels for tempera painting—size, pavoloka, and gesso—since the earliest Christian period until today. While the series specifically apply to making icon boards and preparing them for painting egg tempera icons, it has application to preparing wood panels for painting in any medium on chalk grounds...

Part one on preparing wood panels for painting with the application of chalk grounds and fifth in our technical series on painting icons, this article discusses the history and materials used in the preparation of wood panels for tempera painting—size, pavoloka, and gesso — since the earliest period of Christian art until today. While the series specifically applies to making icon boards and preparing them for painting egg tempera icons, it has application to preparing wood panels for painting in any medium on chalk grounds...

Unsized paper is called “waterleaf” paper. It is usually composed of hydrophilic cellulose fibers, meaning they ‘love water.’ This is a good quality while the paper is being made, but it can lead to unfortunate consequences once the paper is made. The extreme porosity of an untreated sheet of paper means that printing or drawing inks and water-based paints will soak into the paper spreading quickly and randomly. This is called ‘bleedthrough.’ Sizing retards some of the paper’s absorbency...

Gilding is an art that requires dexterity, savoir-faire, and skill, qualities that craftsmen obtain after years of experience. There are two basic techniques in applying gold or metal leaf to surfaces: oil and water gilding. Both techniques employ glue to adhere the leaf to the substrate, but the difference lies in the type of glue. This technique uses a water-based glue or size...